THE DYING GAUL — ** — Patricia Clarkson, Campbell Scott, Peter Sarsgaard; rated R (profanity, sex, vulgarity, brief nudity, brief drugs); see Page W2 for theaters.
Some films are just unsalvageable. No matter how talented the cast, no matter how hard the stars might try, there's simply nothing that can be done to improve the material.
Unfortunately, that's the case with "The Dying Gaul," a button-pushing, agenda-foisting drama based on Craig Lucas' stage play. The film clearly wants to say something about the glossy "Hollywood" treatment of such subjects as AIDS in films like the Oscar-winning "Philadelphia" — as well as the whole art-vs.-commerce debate. But it's done very clumsily, and eventually the film's pushiness wears on you.
The story is told from the perspective of Robert (Peter Sarsgaard), a struggling writer who's written a screenplay loosely based on his relationship with a lover who died from AIDS-related complications.
To his surprise, the screenplay winds up on the desk of Jeffrey (Campbell Scott), a Hollywood executive who says he wants to produce the work — but only with some major changes. So while Robert works on rewrites, he begins spending time at Jeffrey's estate, where he befriends Jeffrey's wife, Elaine (Patricia Clarkson). But he grows uncomfortable there when Jeffrey apparently tries to seduce him.
Lucas directed this adaptation of his play and has tried to "expand" it for the big screen. It's his heavy-handed and often ludicrous plotting that is the film's downfall. In one scene Clarkson's character enters an online chatroom for gay men and learns of her husband's betrayal, which is more laughable than heartbreaking, and the film's "tragic" ending is even worse.
Still, you can't fault the actors. All three give strong performances, especially Sarsgaard, who makes Robert's crisis of conscience very believable and relatable. And Clarkson is good as usual, though her character's marriage to Jeffrey is never convincing.
"The Dying Gaul" is rated R for frequent use of strong sexual profanity and graphic sexual talk (slang and other suggestive terms), simulated sex and other sexual contact (both gay and straight), glimpses of nude artwork and some brief, partial male nudity, and brief drug content. Running time: 101 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com